tour de Milwaukee = to tour Milwaukee

As a Milwaukee native, I like to think that I know my way around the city. However, I still am outdone by the vast amount of new restaurants, bars, and opportunities. Growing up in a suburb just south of Milwaukee not only gave me the small town life, but I was close enough to do whatever I wanted in the city. Unfortunately, just as I was starting to learn my way around, I left for a 5 year span to college. After graduation, I moved back home and had to re-introduce myself to not only Milwaukee itself, but introduce myself to the nightlife and experiences for 21 year olds. I have so much to share, but at the same time, there is so much to try!

I'd have to say that my favorite time of the year is spring - summer. This may seem like most of the year, but Wisconsin winters have been growing longer and longer. Milwaukee offers a large variety of culture that can be seen at festivals. There is something for everyone! I'd like to share just a few of my favorite things to do.

.Alterra Coffee is located right down near the lake. You can sit outside and enjoy live music or just watch all the vehicles and boats pass by.

.Brewery tours are a fun way to see the reason Milwaukee is known for their beer. Lakefront Brewery was by far my favorite, but there are numerous other ones to visit.

.Cathedral Square is where Jazz in the Park is held every Thursday. The area itself is really pretty, the restaurants surrounding it are delicious, the entertainment is varied every week, the Jazz in the Park wine is scrumcious, and the people watching is prime! You can see the most unique grouping of people, entertainment in itself!

.Discovery World is a fun area at Pier Wisconsin for kids. Bartolotta Catering Company is located here and you can see some very elegant events.

.Miller Park is a MUST! My only suggestion is to tail gate. It really isn't a Brewer Game without doing so. With the Brewers doing so well right now, it is so much fun with a full crowd. No matter how big the crowd though, tailgating will make your experience so much better. Get to know your neighbors, grill out, drink, & have a ball!

.Milwaukee Public Market in the Third Ward is a fun place to get a little bit of everything. They have a fresh fish market, margarita bar, wine bar/shop, cheese counter, chocolate counter. You can also take cooking classes, host parties, pick up dinner or even a snack.

.Milwaukee Public Museum is a great place to revisit your childhood. There are always special exhibits and IMax shows playing.

.Milwaukee Art Museum is a gorgeous place for anything. Walking past, walking through, entertaining guests, exploring the best part of Milwaukee. The building itself is a magnificent site, but if walking past near sunset you might lose your breath at the beautiful skyline.

.Tour Milwaukee is a really fun way to experience Milwaukee and some of the food/drinks there is to offer. As a walking tour, you work your way from one point to another and learn about the history of Milwaukee.

I'll continue to share more of my favorite things to do as I experience them.

déménager = to move out

FINALLY I can say that I am moving out of my parents house. It only took me 14 months after graduation, but it's official, I'm moving to the Waukesha area with my college roomate. X is moving all the way down from the Oshkosh area to join me. I am really looking forward to it; I think it is a great step towards adulthood for the both of us.

The move is in 2 weeks and I am already packing and getting things settled for decorating. My boss recently introduced me to Pinterest and I have an addiction with finding ideas for our place. Pinterest is a great way to save ideas and thoughts to boards for later use and to share with others.

(Present day)I have officially moved and it is crazy!!! With working so much, I have yet to organize anything. My gradual move has been such a slow progression. My goal behind it is to clean and decorate as I go before organizing it. So far this has been a frustrating experience. I hope to start posting pictures of my progression.

This isn't my room, but it is the color scheme and feel that I want it to have. The only problem I am facing is that I thought the walls in my apartment would be white, but they are closer to a tan color.

de boire du vin = to drink wine

Recently, I haven't been able to stop drinking wine. On a day off, after a long day at work, with my best friend, a few bottles with my boyfriend, at Jazz in the Park....

There is no reason to not have wine.

I really want a bar to hold all my bottles. I think I might invest in some sort of bar.

As far as wines go and what I suggest, I'd have to say that anything under $10 is right up my ally. My pallet is very favorable of Pinot Grigio [or Pinot Gris] & Reisling for the time being.

Some suggestions:

.Head down to Trader Joe's and fill an empty case with a variety of cheap wine. It pays off later to have back-up. I save all the corks or caps of the ones I like for future knowledge.

.Grocery stores have been expanding their variety of wines to increase liquor sales, you can find the most familiar names there.

.Go to a local Winery. Cedarberg has Cedar Creek Winery with reasonable prices on bottles.

.Thanks to summertime, Milwaukee provides us with many places to find wine. Bastille days was in July and they offer wine tastings. Otherwise, my favorite is Jazz in the Park. While the crowd is very diverse and people watching is definately a sell for me, their brand wine is fabulous! They no longer allow carry-ins, but I don't mind at all. A bottle of white is $11 and if you are attending shows earlier in the season, they sell last year's bottle for $6. I wish I would have stocked up.

.Vino 100 is another option with 3 locations. The prices are all over $10 but the quality offered is high. I recently sat at the bar and had a few glasses of wine and some appetizers in celebration of an anniversary. The ambiance is very lo-key and relaxing. Try their wine of the month! For $30 you get a bottle of each white & red. [You have to pick up your bottles, but if you go on the actual day, there is a little get together where you can taste the wines before you take them home.]

Livres = Books

I have a habit of always buying an old book from an antique store or used book store wherever I travel. Always having an idea in my head, Birch + Bird put created my dream. Follow the link to see more ways of decorating with books.

http://birchandbird.com/decorating-with-books

Check out this handmade book shelf using apple crates!

Apprendre = to learn

Over a year later, I've decided to FINALLY continue my blog.

As my last post was entitled to live, I have done just that over the last year. Granted it's been a while since I graduated, I still am careerless. My source of income is as a waitress. I work at a restaurant, slowly making my way up the totum pole. It may seem that I haven't accomplished much, but I have indeed learned quite a bit. In addition to working full time at a restaurant, I have an internship with a great organization. Children's Hospital Foundation provided me with a Special Events Internship. Along with this comes gathering knowledge of yet another non-profit organization. Here I aid in organizing fundraisers and daily tasks that may go along with that. I absolutely love it. So much so, that I don't mind that it's unpaid. I work with great people and get to see where my work pays off.

This doesn't mean that I'm not still looking for employment, just that I'm furthering myself along the way.

I hope to share my weekly events & to-do's, ideas, thoughts, etc.

There is still so much to learn (apprendre) and I'm excited to share that with you.

Livre = to live

I am recently 23 years old. How have I gotten to the point where I don't know what I want and where I want to be in life? You would think that someone with a future ahead of them would think about it. However, I can only think about today, tonight, what I need to do to further life tomorrow. In roughly 16 days 18 hours and 36 minutes, I will be a college graduate. I haven't looked for jobs, a place to live, where I want to be, nothing. I know the next step is figuring this out, but I haven't.

So what comes next? I'm not sure.

What do you do when you realize you've worked for something that you can't grasp? Years of homework, studying, working, interning, all nighters in the library, restless nights because of stress, listening to advice, building a resume, making lists upon lists of what you want and what you need. All of this I've done to work towards something, but I haven't discovered what it is.

Do I move forward to something I want but might not be able to gain or move forward to something I can get but might not want? These options and choices have been years in the making, they are something that I knew were coming. Yet I don't know how to approach them. I've always been a hard worker, someone who knew what they wanted from life. Recently though, I've been lost. I'm in a time of my life where I could have anything but am clueless as to how to get it. Thus, I'm going to create a blog. I want to track my life from here on out. I want to live life to the fullest.

I want to live.